This week's edition wraps up Forkliftaction.com's
showcase of the Australian forklift market. This special
feature series has been an enormous success, and will become a
reference to the Australian market in the future. The
Australian feature is just one of many sectors of the world
forklift market to be highlighted in coming months. November
is tyres, wheels & castors month, and advertising space is
filling quickly. If you would like your company highlighted in
association with these features, email our marketing
department today. Penryn
Maddrell

1.
**NEWSFLASH** CASCADE BUYS RONCARIPORTLAND, OR, United StatesCascade
Corporation has finalised its acquisition of Italian
attachments producer Roncari Srl.Cascade said on
September 11 that it had signed a preliminary agreement
to acquire all outstanding shares in the company. The
completion of the acquisition was announced
today.Cascade, in a brief statement, said it paid
USD6.5 million cash to buy Roncari, which has annual
revenues of about USD12 million.

Cascade's
Roncari acquisition was announced just before
publication deadline. See next week's issue for a
detailed look at the sale and what it means for the
companies involved and the wider market.

Thank you to the
Australian companies that contributed to the editorial
showcase of the industry down under. And thanks to the
advertisers that took advantage of the spotlight on
Australia to market their companies and
products.

In this special feature, chief reporter
Damien Tomlinson sat down with Howard Grant, secretary
of the Australian Industrial Truck Association (AITA),
which this year celebrates 42 years of official
representation, to discuss the industry.

An
advocate and representative of forklift manufacturers,
suppliers and ancillary companies, the AITA has been at
the forefront of developments in the Australian market
since its inception in 1961.

The suit was filed on October 7 in
the US District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The
complaints include infringement and unfair competition
related to federal, state and common-law trademark
protections; false advertising; and fraudulent
representation under a Wisconsin
statute.

Morris was founded in the 1880s as an
operating division of Harnischfeger Corp, in Milwaukee,
and, during the mid-1990s, was known as the P&H
Crane Division. In March 1998, Harnischfeger sold 80% of
the division, which adopted the Morris
identity.

Morris has an exclusive licence from
Harnischfeger to use the P&H trademark in the
industrial crane and hoist
business.

Publicly-traded KCI Konecranes, based
in Hyvink, Finland, has major global overhead crane
and hoist operations, including its US unit, fellow
defendant KCI Konecranes Inc, of Springfield, Ohio. The
parent company had profit of EUR24.6 million (USD25.8
million) on 2002 sales of EUR713.6 million (USD748.1
million) and, at December 31, employed 4,441
persons.

Morris alleges Konecranes and affiliates
misused the P&H trademark in Canada in September
1999, misused the Morris trademark in Canada in December
2001 and distributed inappropriate marketing material
and passed off non-P&H aftermarket parts as genuine
P&H parts in April 2003.

Morris said it
complained in letters to Konecranes management. In
response, Konecranes "denied undertaking any wrongful
conduct", the Morris suit said. "Defendants and their
affiliates have continued to misuse and misappropriate
plaintiffs' intellectual rights, all for the purpose
(of) diverting business and customers" from Morris to
Konecranes. Numerous examples are cited in the
litigation.

The suit identifies three
Konecranes-related websites on which Morris trademarks
are listed.

Morris has requested a jury trial and
intends to pursue an award for punitive damages and
"actual damages to be proven at trial", the suit said.
Initially, Morris wants the court to prevent Konecranes
from continuing the alleged actions.

The suit
said Konecranes' US market expansion had included
purchases of "Shepard Niles, Crane Manufacturing and
Kranco". In addition, Konecranes "has aggressively but
unsuccessfully attempted to purchase all or portions of
the Morris Group on several occasions since 1997",
according to the suit.

"We like to keep to one brand
so we have uniformity and most of our people have worked
on and have expertise in JCB machines. The latest deal
is to meet the demands of our depots throughout the UK.
We decided to go with JCB as the customer identifies
with them and historically we have used JCB," he
said.

A Greenshields JCB spokesman said: "Kent
Sweepers is one of the biggest independent companies we
deal with and a long-standing customer which has
constantly invested in our machines. Kent Sweepers'
fleet now consists solely of JCBs."- JCB website -

The order, placed
through Kalmar's Belgian dealer, Bia NV, is for five
ESCs with normal spreaders and four with extendable
twin-lift spreaders with a 50-tonne lift
capacity.

The order is a vote of confidence for
the new twin-lift spreader and the ESC straddle carrier,
which combines an electrical drive system with the
robust construction of Kalmar's CSC straddle
carrier.

Hesse-Noord Natie first bought two ESCs
for testing last year. The company already operates
almost 50 Kalmar straddle carriers. Neither the
estimated delivery time nor the contract value was
released.- Bia website -

7.
BRIEFLY...MANILA, PhilippinesInternational
Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) plans to acquire
one quay crane and four rubber-tyred gantry cranes
(RTGs) to augment its capacity.The company also
intends to buy new mobile cargo handling equipment to
expedite internal yard movement. ICTSI also announced a
USD100 million expansion plan for its Baltic Container
Terminal in Gdynia, Poland.

BIRMINGHAM, UK -
People intending to visit IMHX 2004 in Birmingham next
March can now register free online. Simply go to www.imhx.co.uk and click on the
"REGISTRATION NOW OPEN" banner.IMHX 2004 follows the
successful inaugural event in 2001. Occupying five major
halls, IMHX will feature more than 200 materials
handling and storage companies, plus free seminars and
the forklift driver of the year competition.

8.
NEW LCD IGNITION SYSTEM FROM
KEYTROLLERMELBOURNE,
AustraliaDunham Instruments and
KEYTROLLER, INC. have released the
KEYTROLLER LCD Model 501 LCD screen.Shift checklists
can now be automated, and safety items must be checked
before starting.Supervisors can access events like
shock/abuse, speeding, overheating, oil pressure,
maintenance, hours, speed % limit, % of memory used and
operator name.KEYTROLLER LCD comes with scalable
security and prevents untrained operators from starting
vehicles, makes abusive operators accountable and
monitors engine conditions.Installation is simple
for any IC or electric
vehicle.For more information see www.keytroller.com, phone 03 9876 4784
or email info@dunhaminstruments.com.au.

One of the keys to safe
forklift operation begins with inspecting forks for
wear. Did you know that a 10% reduction in fork
thickness results in a 20% capacity
reduction?

Follow the easy steps in Cascade's
Fork Inspection Kit to ensure safety and keep you in
compliance with safety laws. Call your forklift dealer
for a kit, which includes a poster, measuring calliper,
safety checklist and clipboard.

See www.cascorp.com or just call us on
1800 CASCADE (227 223) within Australia or
+61-7-3373-7300.

12.
NEW RETROFIT PIVOT AND SUSPENSION FOR
FORKLIFTSFORT WAYNE, Indiana, United
StatesThe Huddle Group has developed the "U-Turn"
pivot system, which fits between any seat and the deck
of a forklift to provide a 15 degree rotation while
driving backwards. This minimises twisting but keeps
feet on the pedals and knees inside the cage and away
from controls. The optional "REBOUND" suspension system
has been clinically proven to attenuate harmful low
frequency vibrations.Both of these products, are
included in Huddle's affordable T-700 Transport seat,
which also includes other ergonomic features.

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